Solar farm gives leg up to community campaign

A fundraising campaign to upgrade the toilets at a Wiltshire village hall has received a welcome boost thanks to a local solar farm.

The ‘Spend a Penny’ campaign in Marston and Worton was one of the first projects to benefit from community funds linked with Lower End solar farm, owned by Wiltshire based renewable energy company, Good Energy.

The grant of £2,500 will go towards the cost of installing modern, accessible toilets and baby-changing facilities at Worton and Marston Village Hall.

James Ryle, Communities Manager at Good Energy said, “We believe the communities surrounding our solar and wind farms should share in the benefits of renewable energy. It’s fantastic to see that the fund is being used to support such a worthy cause that will benefit the entire local area.”

Veronica Franklin, Chair of Trustees Worton and Marston Village Hall said “We are so grateful to Good Energy for giving us a grant from the solar farm funds, and to the. villagers for getting involved with our campaign. We still have some way to go before we reach our target of £15,000, but we hope to achieve this in the near future.”

Other fundraising activity has included a sporting event, Loo-lympics, held in July, with villagers taking part in toilet-themed games, raising nearly £300.

Good Energy, who provide 100% renewable electricity and green gas to homes and businesses all over the UK, will contribute at least £7,500 per year to local projects for the 30 year lifetime of the solar farm at Lower End.

Other grants from the solar farm community fund went to Five Lanes Primary School for the installation of a chicken run and Holy Trinity Primary School to go towards the cost of an outdoor classroom.

Notes to editors

The Village Hall’s cramped toilets will be transformed into two modernised, disabled-friendly toilets with baby change facilities, once all the money has been raised. New heating and water-saving equipment will also be fitted to make them warmer and more eco-friendly.

Further events to raise money for the campaign will be happening throughout the year:

On Saturday 29th October, the village will be holding a ‘Monster Scary-Crow Trail’. This family-friendly event will involves following a trail around the village, discovering monsters hiding in gardens and hedges.

The annual village Christmas Bazaar will also be run in support of the campaign and a gig is being planned for the New Year, complete with live music from a local band.